Fitness Journey

In the beginning I was a 206lb "flabalicious" fat guy rapidly approaching the big 3-0. So, how am I doing? Today, about seven months in, I weighed 166.6lbs. Over the holidays I went back up to 178 lbs, but now I am working on reaching my goal of 159 lbs, 7% body fat, and a Ninja Warrior ready body.

Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category

…that we had a president who did more than cardio or basic pickup-basketball games? When was the last time you saw a picture of President Obama bench pressing or President Bush doing sledgehammer training? Never. Presidents can find plenty of time for bike riding, basketball, and (the most useless of sports) golf. Yet when was the last time the leader of the free world went all Rocky montage and pulled a sled, slammed a barrel, or punched a heavy bag? You know they have to be frustrated, worried, angry, upset, etc. Bike riding might be quiet, golf may be a nice slow paced “sport,” but NOTHING is as liberating as a high intensity session of sledgehammer training or pulling a 70lb sled.

A golfer needs to calm his mind to play his best game. Well, when you are flipping a 250+ lb tire it is hard to think about anything else in the world. Not only do you find relief from the trouble of the day (and who needs that more than the president), you come out on the other side with a whole new view of life. High intensity workouts are responsible for more epiphanies than falling off toilets (flux capacitor), sitting on the toilet (so claims at least one Facebook group), near death experiences, and that way you always remember something important just as it becomes completely inaccessible or useless.

So I say that the next election cycle we take into consideration more than politics and personality. We should consider a candidate’s fitness regimen. Some bold reporter should ask each candidate “How often do you train? What kind of techniques do you use to blow off steam in and out of the gym? How much does the tractor tire in your backyard weigh and how many times can you flip it before your heart almost beats through your chest? Sir or Ma’am, can you pull a sled loaded with a 100 pounds? Push a car 400 meters? Pull a car 100 meters? Do 3 sets of 12 Turkish get-ups (on each side)? Slam a stack of pringles?” Okay, maybe not the last one, but definitely the others.

This especially applies to the presidential candidates in 2012. (more…)

Is Barack Obama too thin to be trusted or related to by ordinary Americans? Do you choose who you will vote for based on their food and exercise choices? Would Wm. Howard Taft or Abraham Lincoln have a chance of being elected today in our image conscious world- the former would be too fat and the latter too tall and lanky. In a rather disappointing and humorous article the Wall Street Journal has fun pointing out the role food choices have played in presidential elections. One of my favorite stories from the article focuses around John Kerry at the Iowa State Fair. (more…)

“Ken Giles was jogging in a park in Johnson City, Tenn., when, as he put it, “nature called.” He went off the trail to go take care of business. Then an undercover agent “put the badge in my face and told me that I was under arrest. I just thought I was in trouble for urinating in public.”

It was much more humiliating than that. The park was the site of a police crackdown on gay men using the park for sex. But the police went beyond arrests. Before anyone was convicted, they posted the names, addresses and photos of the men.

Giles’s wife saw his picture on the news. Then his employer fired him. “When I lost my job … my wife was so upset that she had a … a major heart attack.”

What purpose does this kind of thing serve? Why can’t police distinguish between someone trying to relieve themselves and someone try to get some kicks from public sex? Why are police so busy hiding in bushes or bathroom stalls trying to entrap people into engaging in illicit activities? While engaging in sexual acts in clear public view in front of others should indeed be a crime, There is no need for all this covert activity and undercover work.

Banning Fast Food to Fight Obesity?

“Jan Perry, a Los Angeles city-council member, is spearheading legislation that would ban new fast-food restaurants like McDonald’s and KFC from opening in a 32-square-mile chunk of the city, including her district.” – WSJ

You might ask why? The standard response from advocates of such measure

“[These measures are] crucial in the fight against obesity, diabetes and other diseases and health conditions.”

While all of you know I take seriously the problem of obesity in America, this is certainly not the way to go about it. Limiting the choices of all members of society because some abuse their freedom is the very antithesis of what one should expect from their government. This problem will only be solved when individuals take responsibility for their actions, not when the government bans or sin taxes every last twinkie, Big Mac, or fried food found in fast food restaurants, grocery stores, or your very own fridge.

Grown up P.E.- Do you Still Hit the Dork With Glasses? Wait, That’s me!

“This is Old School P.E., a two-hour exercise program strictly for adults, built around grown-up versions of gym class staples. Participants say getting in shape is a bonus to the main attraction — a Friday night out with friends, away from the kids.” – Yahoo! News (more…)

Good news, bad news, boring news, sensational news- it’s all in thousands of newspapers published in print and online daily, weekly, and monthly. But since you can’t read them all, whatever should the aspiring mind do? Are there some guidelines that might guide you through the avalanche of news available at the local newsstand and on the information superhighway.

Furthermore, there is more to reading and learning than newspapers right? Of course. There are journals, websites, blogs, etc. So allow me to introduce you to rule #1 of the 10 Weeks to an Intellectual Transformation program and how it applies to a broad range of sources- mostly by introducing you to a broad range of sources.

Rule #1.If you aren’t reading things that might get you on an FBI list you probably aren’t reading enough. (more…)

After processing the news of Tony Snow’s passing I knew there was something I had to do. I had to pay a visit to the Daily Kos and see what the folks over there thought of the passing of this genuinely good and kind man who left behind a wife and three children. What I found what about as revolting as the time back in college when I accidentally took a swig from my roommates dip bottle- which was all to inconspicuously disguised as an ordinary Coke bottle and in very close proximity to my Coke bottle.

I will warn you that the comments are quite vulgar. I must also give props to those on the comment board who had the moral courage to condemn those spewing pointless vitriol- thank you all for standing up to a conmmon decency that knows no political bounds.

Why am I republishing these awful comments? I think that republishing these comments on this blog can lead to a teachable moment, a moment I will capitalize on next week in a post under the intellectual transformation series. [Note: All of the below quotes can be found at this thread on the Daily Kos]

“Tony knew that his boss was full of shit and that he was lying to the American people everyday. He gets no kudos for being a lying sack of shit. Yes its terrible for his young children, but it is also terrible for the young children of soldiers who keep getting killed because of the bullshit this lying sack of crap spewed everyday from his podeium. rest in hell.” -Rogereaton

One can have little doubt that what the poster (and countless other folks after him) considered “lies” were more likely than not points of political difference- instances where Tony Snow or those he represented drew different conclusions from the same facts. Yet, Mr. Eaton is more than happy to condemn Tony Snow to the darkest pits of hell because of their political disagreements. I guess we are lucky this guy isn’t actually in charge of who gets what final destination. Aside: For those of you looking for the proper application of the admonishments against judging others found in the New Testament, here you have a perfect example.

“I am a little baffled by the kind words for Mr. Snow on this blog today. Here was a man who could have used his talents to better the world, and he chose to do the complete opposite. I am not sure how he slept at night. My condolances (sic) to his family, but I can’t be sad that he’s gone.”- unionsally

While I am glad she expressed some concern over Tony Snow getting some rest- since we all know a good nights sleep is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle- some might consider it a tres bit gauche to make sweeping moral claims about the dead. Perhaps we can all find some way to at least stay quiet if we can’t say anything nice about those recently departed.

“You were my favorite of the Bush administration’s apologistic (sic) panderers. You were a good spokesman for the side of evil and if not for your cancer, would have easily had a promising career in televangilism (sic) should you have chosen to pursue one.”- Juliewolf

The best that I can say is that perhaps this is an attempt at humor that took a disappointing turn. Note how she connects Tony Snow with “the side of evil” and suggests a possible career in televangelism- since we all know televangelists are horrible people right? All I want to know is whether Ms. Wolf was among those who decried President Bush when he called North Korea, Iran, and Iraq an “axis of evil.” (A statement I had problems with at the time, although no doubt for completely different reasons. Especially since I do believe that the North Korean governmental system is a clearly evil system.) (more…)

How can a man with who votes the Democratic Party line in the U.S. Senate 97% of the time genuinely claim that he will unify the country? He can’t.

How can a man who has attended an African Nationalist church for over 20 years claim to transcend race? He can’t.

For the above reasons, I just can’t buy the almost defied image of Obama presented by both his official campaign staff and his unofficial campaign staff (i.e. the members of the media who cry when they hear him speak). While Obama is intelligent, charismatic, and an effective public speaker, he isn’t the savior that many want to make him. [BTW, check out this interesting footage of people fainting during his speeches.] Moreover, the hope that many Americans have, a hope to find a racial savior that can wipe the slate clean has unfortunately led to a myopic vision on the part of Obama supporters to overlook the wildly overstated case for his presidency. Perhaps even more frightening is Obama’s own belief that he does live up to the hype.